Cropped Will Cardini artwork

July 14th, 2015

“Rock Troll” in RhiZome #3

Filed under: Press,Print Comics — Tags: — William Cardini @ 10:55 am

I’m the token American in the third issue of the British SF anthology series RhiZome, edited by Rob Jackson and Kyle Baddeley-Read. My comic, “Rock Troll,” is ten pages long. Here’s the first page:

Rock Troll Page 1

RhiZome #3 was reviewed by Richard Bruton on the Forbidden Planet blog. He liked “Rock Troll.” Here’s a quote:

A thing of some shape meets a rock. And the rock turns nasty. And then other stuff. It’s hardly War & Peace but by heck, it’s great. Maybe it’s the visual simplicity of it all, but whatever it was, it’s great.

Buy it from the shop link on Rob Jackson’s website. It’s £4 plus £2 if you’re outside the UK.

Here’s another page:

Rock Troll Page 4

Kyle Baddeley-Read posted an interview with me on the RhiZome blog. Here’s an excerpt:

From the first three issues of RhiZome, what stories have stood out to you? Why?

My favorite story is “Corporation Pop” by Rob Jackson. The first two installments were in RhiZome #1 and #2. I like how Rob depicts a mundane office life that is spiraling out of control into a paranoid fantasy where nothing seems real. Tyler Stafford’s comic in RhiZome #2 is also amazing, like all of his work. He puts in a lot of little details in his drawings that make his SF worlds grounded. I also dig his character designs.

July 7th, 2015

Two Contrasting Vortex Reviews

Filed under: Press — Tags: — William Cardini @ 10:44 am

Here are two more reviews of Vortex with contrasting perspectives. Click here for blockquotes and links.

March 24th, 2015

Two Vortex Reviews

Filed under: Press — Tags: — William Cardini @ 10:42 am

Vortex got two reviews last week!

Here’s a quote from Rob McMonigal’s review on Panel Patter, part of a roundup of SF comics:

Cardini’s plot works well, drawing the reader in with increasing layers of complexity, as the Miizzzard finds himself in greater and greater danger, fighting forces that may in fact be beyond his ability to combat. What’s really cool, however, is the fact that the art, which is just on the border between abstract and structured, reflects this layering. Thanks to an art style that focuses heavily on shapes and patterns, we as the reader are challenged ourselves to try to pick out the distinct images or watch as one pattern dissolves into another, changing the scene.

Here’s the summary paragraph from Alex Hoffman’s review on Sequential State:

In a way, Vortex’s best comparison is shonen battle manga, specifically Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z, where super-powered heroes battle super-powered enemies, who later become friends to fight greater enemies. There is death and revival, always advancing the plot; a secret move that can only be used in times of great need. There is a juvenileness and a joy about it, qualities that are the essence of shonen battle manga. These things jump out at me from Vortex, despite its psychedelic trappings. But the abstraction of art, Cardini’s use of texture, and the loose structure of this comic make it a refreshing read.

January 21st, 2015

Vortex Updates and Press

Filed under: Press — Tags: — William Cardini @ 9:53 am

Releasing the Vortex book was my second biggest accomplishment of 2014. (The biggest was getting my daughter to sleep in her crib. Neither would have been possible without the help of my wife.) Thanks again to everyone who supported the Sparkplug Books Kickstarter! Virginia is sending out your copies of Vortex and I’m working on the 3d print and original art rewards. If you missed out on the Kickstarter but would still like a copy, it’s for sale in the Sparkplug web store and in Austin at Farewell Books and Austin Books. I’ll sell copies on this site once I finish my part of the Kickstarter rewards.

Glade and Ruby
I did this drawing of my wife and daughter for my father-in-law’s Kickstarter reward.

Here’s some press that Vortex got in the tail end of 2014:

If you’ve read Vortex, please consider rating or reviewing it on Goodreads.

May 1st, 2014

Hyperbroadcasts: New Comics, Upcoming Events, Book Recommendations, and Reviews

Filed under: Admin,Events,Press — William Cardini @ 11:43 am

I’ve got some updates for y’all:

January 29th, 2013

Hyperbroadcasts

Filed under: On Sale,Press — Tags: , , — William Cardini @ 11:12 am

I’ve got a couple bits of news:

William Cardini Digital Prints Composite
If there’s an artwork or single comics page that you’d like to see me offer as a digital print, let me know.

I love the increasingly abstract and artificial texture of Cardini’s series…. It’s interesting to see a book done in the “mark-making” school of comics drawn entirely on a computer, as it heightens reader tension and makes the contents all the more alien in its coldness.

  • Here’s a somewhat abstract Vortex #3 preview page:

Vortex 3 Page 13
This is Page 13. Vortex #3 is also available in my online store, in a combo pack or by itself.

December 5th, 2012

Hyperbroadcasts (NSFW)

Filed under: Press,Print Comics — Tags: — William Cardini @ 12:52 am

I’ve got several things to tell y’all about:

Paper Party Print Show Flyer
Flyer artwork by Monica Ramos. Facebook event page here.

  • I’m going to have a digital print of a full-color drawing of the Miizzzard performing an experiment in the upcoming Paper Party Print Show, opening this Saturday, December 8th, from 7 to 9pm.

Vortex 3 Release Party Flyer Flyer
Press release here. Facebook event page here.

  • Domy Books Austin is having a release party for Vortex #3 on 12/12/12 from 7 to 9pm. I’ll do drawings in whatever Cardini books you bring or buy!

The Cockroach preview 3
A snippet of “The Cockroach.”

Origin of Stoner Alien minicomic
Sample of the minicomic Origin of Stoner Alien.

Vortex 2 in the Sparkplug Books Store

William Cardini page at Wow Cool

  • You can get a bunch of my comics and anthologies that I’ve contributed to at the William Cardini page on Wow Cool. (There’s even a video of me talking in my studio, good find Marc!)

July 10th, 2012

Comics on Sale at Domy Austin; Reviews

Filed under: Press — Tags: , , , , , , , — William Cardini @ 7:19 am

Hey ya’ll, I just dropped off the Josh Burggraf-edited psychedelic sf anthology Future Shock at Domy Books here in Austin. Check out the cover:

Future Shock cover

Future Shock is 44 full-color pages of freak out sf short stories by the main man JB, Anuj Shrestha, Pat Aulisio, myself, and Victor Kerlow, drawing comics solo and collabo. I’m really excited by what Josh has done with this, but don’t take my word for it, check some words of praise from Tim Callahan in a post-MoCCA review roundup on Comic Book Resources. The anthology is $7. I also restocked Vortex #1 and #2.

In other news, comics by both me and Burggraf got reviewed by Rob Clough on High-Low in a roundup of “odd genre minis”. Clough has this to say about Vortex #2: “Working big and using so many decorative patterns gives this issue a psychedelic feel, yet one that’s grounded in rock-solid and simple layouts.”

July 6th, 2012

Vortex #2 for Sale at Floating World and a Review

Filed under: Press,Print Comics — Tags: , , , , — William Cardini @ 7:31 am

I just sent a stack of Vortex #2 to my buddy Ryan Dirks in Portland. He took some over to Floating World Comics in Portland, so if any of y’all are there, y’all can now pick up both issues of Vortex there.


Dirks holding up a stack of V#2.

Dirks also posted some kind words about my comics: “I love how he uses space and rocks all the different tones. Everything has a melty, trippy, dreamlike quality to it, very unique.”

June 19th, 2012

Digestate Kickstarter; Two Vortex #2 Reviews

Filed under: Press,Print Comics — Tags: , , , , , , — William Cardini @ 9:59 pm

I’m contributing a short comic to the J.T. Yost-edited food-and-eating themed anthology Digestate along with a bunch of other awesome folks:

Digestate contributors
Digestate promo image by cartoonist Victor Kerlow, who also has a comic in the latest Catch Up.

Yost has already raised funds to print the anthology through Kickstarter. But if y’all want to snag a copy, throw in some bucks here in the next nine days.

I’ve also gotten two reviews of Vortex #2.

Vortex #2 Page 18
Page 18 of Vortex #2.

In Edie Fake’s review for the Quimby’s store site, he says, “Thick-like-a-brick linework barely contains another dose of filled-to-the-brim fill pattern madness.” Click here to read all of Fake’s review and order a copy from Quimby’s in Chicago if you’re so inclined.

Meanwhile, over at Optical Sloth, Kevin says, “Once again the art is amazing, as there are all kinds of creatures and objects floating around that are just begging for a more detailed description, and the story is picking up steam nicely.” Click here to read the entire review.